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11/6/12

New Office REVEAL! ...Decor on a Budget

Those that know me personally know that I'm a bit compulsive when it comes to decorating. Not compulsive as in choosing strange things I regret, but compulsive as in when I get an idea in my head, I do it. In less than a day.

So in less than 24 hours, my home office went to this...

BRIGHT AND HAPPY :)

...from this.

dark and gloomy... and purple?

The only new items? Black curtains. That's IT. The paint was found in (what my husband calls), the "paint department" in our garage and all the furniture is the same, but rearranged. The lamp was in our attic. Shop what ya got, baby.

Ok, so I know it wasn't horrible before. The main issue was that the old office didn't make me feel good, which is what decorating and interior design is all about. I originally went with the dark gray because, well, I wanted a dark gray room. Why not the office?? Looking back, I love the color, but that shade wasn't what I wanted to work within during the day, you know? It was just too dark and gloomy in there. Grays are SO tricky. To me, that one looked very purple. So instead of my chic gray office, I saw a purple mistake every single time. So if you're ever in a gray-paint-choosing situation, make sure to take the purple/blue level into consideration and go for a more true gray.

Another issue with the old office? It was cramped. Rearranging the existing furniture in the room seriously made it feel like the space has tripled. It's insane. Don't get me wrong, I love a floating desk, but I like open space more.
Check out all the rolling around space! ...for Waylon I mean. It goes back several more feet to the opposite wall beyond the edge of the photo.

This is the only "stark" white room in our home, but it works. Don't think white is easy or boring. It actually takes more to make white work. My decor style usually is more neutral walls (warm grays or taupe) and accessorizing with color. Color for the sake of color is no bueno. You've got to have your own style and do what makes you feel good in your own home, always.

Anyway, this white is Vanilla Milkshake by Benjamin Moore in a semi-gloss finish, which I would usually avoid for walls. I always go with eggshell. But this works! Is it bad that when we moved in I forgot what exactly I even had this paint mixed for?? It's almost iridescent. The existing mini chandelier light fixture casts a mega glamorous glow against the finish.

The biggest change other than the color is the furniture arrangement. I took my existing 3-piece book shelves/cabinet from the Ikea Hemnes line and divided those babies. I replaced the glass center cabinet with my Ikea Liatorp desk. I love the look of these three pieces together.

(the little striped pillow was a lucky Target clearance find, for $5!)

On the opposite wall, which in the original office was furniture-free, is now home to the center cabinet. I keep a lot of office/craft supplies in this big guy, as well as some cutesy trinkets and assorted tchotchkes. :)

The chair above is a random dining chair I picked up from Pier 1 on clearance a while back. The pillow is from Target and my little inspiration pin board was a super cheap-o find from Hobby Lobby that I covered with fabric. Super easy way to update a plain cork board, by the way.

Some more bookshelf styling...

gold urchin: Nate Berkus for Target (moved from our family room), black vase: clearance find from Target (only $5!) ... and also moved from our family room. When you redecorate, shop your house and use what ya got!

The desk itself is super fun because before, I didn't keep much on the desktop. I love that now, I can add more to it without looking cluttered since it's against the wall.

I replaced the boring knobs on the desk with these that used to be in a bathroom! I luckily had a whole drawer full of them. I believe they were originally from Anthropologie.

My light gray tufted chair I'm using at the desk was another lucky find from the Frontgate Outlet. It's super comfortable at the desk and just the right height.

The 95-inch curtains were an awesome find at Target. They were the ONLY thing I bought specifically for this office re-do. A huge tip for cheaper panel curtains... You can easily make them look super expensive by adding some clip rings to the back side of the top and hanging them that way. Makes the fabric hang nicer rather than using the pre-sewn pole pocket at the top which never looks good. I chose an antiqued brass (which I had in a bag in our attic, leftover from our old place), to go with the gold/brass accents in the room.

So that's it guys! I hope you like it. I am in LOOOOVE with it. It feels so good to be blogging from a place I feel good in and really love. That's all that matters in interior design.... what makes YOU feel good and what you love. It's all about what speaks to you.

So if something isn't quite right in a room in your home, don't spend a ton to re-do it! Use what you've got and be a little creative. You can get a dramatic result on a budget using stuff you already have and doing a quick furniture switch-a-roo. ;)

Would you guys eventually like to see a video tour on my vlog channel when it's completely done?

We finished our living room not too long ago. This whole house was a flat white and I HATED it. The bedroom is a nice soft eggshell baby blue with cream accents, the master bathroom is a bright blue with navy accents, the guest bathroom is yellow with brown accents and the living room is what I thought supposed to be a taupe and it ended more like a light purple, but it goes really well with all the woodwork within the living room. I'm not really good with decorating, but I always love watching what you do!

Yes, I re-painted my living room, in light grey!!! During the day it's perfect but when it's dark and there is artificial warm light, all my friends tell me that it doesn't sems grey but kinda lilac or like wisteria flower colour! I don't see it, but all of them see that colour!! I must change and put a cold light!!Great ideas for your office!

I loved the room before but the new design is much "happier" and absolutely gorgeous! I really like your sense of style and how to put things together. "Shopping" from your house is a really great tip--I do it all the time and am always moving something from one room to another:-) Great post, Tiffany!

Thanks! Blog sales have gotten so difficult for me. The last time I did one I had a fraction of the audience that I do now and it was so overwhelming! I'm afraid it would get too crazy. Not only that, but the main reason I haven't been doing them is because of the products I'm sent by MAC. Now that they've started sending me a lot of stuff for each collection, I couldn't include a lot of stuff like that in the sale. So I really wouldn't have much I would feel right about selling.

Time for a grammar lesson ;) (because I used to teach it) StationAry is an adjective (incapable of moving). StationEry is a noun (writing paper). Since I was labeling a box full of "writing paper", "stationEry" was the way to go. ;)

Do you think you could do a DIY/Tutorial on the cork board? The new bright office looks awesome, even though I loved the old office too. I love your decorating style Tiffany, you definatly have taste girl!

Hi, your office looks really nice. I have the same desk and I was wondering if you put a glass cover on top of it? If yes, how did you do that or where can you buy it? I would like something to protect the top of my desk too.

This is amazing! How do you stay so organized? I'm a teacher too, and I have so much trouble keep my home "office" (a.k.a. my bedroom) organized because of all my school stuff (and, admitedly, a lot of beauty stuff with limited storage). Any tips?

It really doesn't matter much. It's all about what you can do with very little. If you have the creativity and the inspiration, you can make it work. But when it comes to lighting, choosing fluorescent lights is a definite choice for offices and the likes.

It looks nice however, if your back is towards the door, it's bad feng shui. So, if you love to decorate, you should apply the principal of feng shui so you can benefit from the good "chi" (energy). And you should never face a wall either - a wall should be behind you for support - and you should always see what's coming at you, and not be surprise. I'd reconsider rearranging one more time but keep the paint bright and everything else. And consider getting a Feng Shui book for decorating guidance.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE White walls. In the old house I rented we were allowed to paint and the living room was pure white walls with hot pink trim (it was gorgeous!) Unfortunately I haven't had the time or motivation to repaint my current bedroom the same way.

Great looking office! The white tone sets a very classy motif in your office. This is definitely a place where you can enjoy working. Everything is so primed up to perfection. Always remember to never overload your drawers because retrieving documents would obviously be difficult when the drawers are full. Kudos to you and your great design!

I love the look of both offices for different reasons. I could however see that the brighter office would function better for everyday use. The darker romm had an elegance to it though. Beautiful chandalier and desk chair!

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AMAZING!! That is soooo cute!!!! I am seriously in love with it! I am in the process of redesigning my office now but I am on a budget too! I found some great used office furniture and I am repurposing it. I used OSI Outlet for my stuff. Check them out if anyone needs any good stuff! http://www.osioutlet.com/clearance.html

Friends I want share with you some A dialogue is a conversation. Many families hold off on decorating until their children are older, making do with ratty post-dorm furniture for years after its expiration date because, well, the kids will just destroy anything else. But even the youngest children benefit from living amid beautiful objects; they grow to appreciate and respect them. So go ahead and create a home the whole family can enjoy. You can even get kids involved in the process, asking what they'd like to see in a room you're redecorating or letting them weigh in on a few pre-screened paint colors or fabric samples. They may even feel enough ownership to think twice before kicking off their muddy boots onto the rug they helped select.outdoor furniture clearance

Great design! I have the same desk and I'm having a hard time finding the right chair to go with it. I love your white chair in your original office. Any idea what it was called and who made it, please?